Ratings: Salem Opens Big; Orphan Black Return Still Small

Monday

Apr 21, 2014 at 12:01 AMApr 21, 2014 at 8:33 PM

For a brand new series on a mysterious network, WGN America'sSalempulled in some pretty surprising numbersSunday.TheShane West-led series set during the historic witch trials drew 2.3 million total viewers over four combined telecasts. The premiere broadcast at 10/9c pulled in ...

TV Guide

For a brand new series on a mysterious network, WGN America's Salem pulled in some pretty surprising numbers Sunday.

The Shane West-led series set during the historic witch trials drew 2.3 million total viewers over four combined telecasts. The premiere broadcast at 10/9c pulled in 1.5 million viewers, and 647,000 adults in the 18-49 demographic. The network covers only 62.3 percent of the U.S. and is available in just 72 million homes. The use of witchcraft has not yet been ruled out as an explanation for these numbers.

Saturday's Season 2 premiere only recorded 785,000 total viewers when replays are factored in. The original telecast brought in 620,000 total viewers and 391,000 in the 18-49 demo. That's a 97 percent increase in the adult 18-49 demo and doubles the Season 1 average, but proves that even with all the critical praise, Orphan Black remains a cult series and did not rocket into widespread popularity upon its return as fans hoped it would.

Alt TV: Offbeat shows you should be watching

Elsewhere on cable, ratings for FX's Fargo were not quite as modest as originally reported last week. It jumped 68 percent from 2.65 million to 4.46 million viewers once the time-shifted Live+3 day viewings were recorded. In multi-telecast viewings, the numbers rose to 6.38 million total viewers, up from 4.15 million on Live+Same Day.

Did you check out Salem or Orphan Black this weekend?

View original Ratings: Salem Opens Big; Orphan Black Return Still Small at TVGuide.com